The National Tap Sufjan Stevens, St. Vincent & Sharon Van Etten for New Record

The National's frontman Matt Berninger recently said that a decade after the release of their eponymous debut the moody Brooklyn rockers don't have to "prove [their] identity any longer." Which might help explain the bevy of guest musicians on their upcoming release Trouble Will Find Me (out May 21).

"There are some drum machines provided by Sufjan Stevens," Devendorf said. "He did some other things too, but he had this drum machine and he did some cool little parts on that."

He continued: "I know [Arcade Fire's] Richard Reed Parry did a lot of great stuff. [Doveman] Thomas Bartlett was all over it. There were a lot of great musicians playing interesting instruments: there was a bass clarinet, regular clarinet, there’s strings, violin, viola, cello, there’s brass…it’s all used in these textual shifts rather than like, ‘here’s the brass!’ It’s subtle shifts … There are some great guest vocalists that did really awesome parts: [St. Vincent] Annie Clark, Sharon Van Etten, and Nona Marie Invie, from the band Dark Dark Dark."